Albatrosses, penguins and farting seals: A trip around the Southern Ocean Islands

Australian resident NGBirder Joshua Bergmark recently took part in an Enderby Trust Scholarship with Heritage Expeditions for a mind-blowing birding boat trip around the Southern Ocean Islands. Read his accounts, gasp at his photography and suppress that green-eyed monster...Prions, set, go!

It was not until three weeks ago (right before my English HSC* exam) that I received an email notifying me that I had won an Enderby Trust Scholarship, allowing keen young people like me to travel to the Southern Ocean with Heritage Expeditions, courtesy of Rodney Russ. After cancelling all my schoolies* plans with friends in the warmer climes of Queensland, I was soon prepared to head off on an expedition to one of the most remote places on Earth. It was to be an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.

Joshua and some friends - including Australia's 3rd Chinstrap Penguin!

Part 1: Snares Is, Enderby Is, Aukland Is: http://fortheloveof-birds.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/the-roaring-forties.html

Salvin's Albatross (Thalassarche salvini) ©Joshua Bergmark

Part 2: Macquarie Is and Australia's 3rd Chinstrap Penguin!: http://fortheloveof-birds.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/the-furious-fifties.html

Campbell Shag (Phalacrocorax campbelli) ©Joshua Bergmark

Part 3: Campbell Is, Antipodes Is, Bounty Is, Chatham Is, MAGENTA PETREL: http://fortheloveof-birds.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/the-returning-forties.html

Royal Penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli) ©Joshua Bergmark

Heritage Expeditions and Enderby Trust Scholarships offer incredible opportunities for young birders to experience the overwhelming wealth of birdlife to be found in the Southern Oceans: http://www.heritage-expeditions.com/article/enderby-trust-scholarships-open-now/

-Joshua Bergmark Josh is an 18 year old (soon-to-be-university) student from Sydney, Australia, who asked for his first field guide from Santa when he was 5, but it was only a few years ago when looking at a Mallee Ringneck drinking from a puddle in the Australian outback that he decided to tick it off in his trusty book. Twitching and listing were an inevitable extension to Josh's love of birds and nature. Whilst the number of young birders we know of in Australia is less than a dozen, they are all extremely enthusiastic and are looking forward to a lifetime of birding - the Next Generation of Australian Birders!

*(to any non-Aussies: English HSC = A-level equivalent. 

schoolies = Christmas school holidays which occur during the Australian summer)